


cuentame la verdad

by pinchecacto



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (i guess? its 4 chapters so like. idk), Angst, F/F, Slow Burn, a lot of spanish dialogue so just be aware idk, latina catradora au stans rise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24774481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinchecacto/pseuds/pinchecacto
Summary: Adora, after receiving a scholarship towards the school of her dreams, leaves her old school, her family, and her person behind. She struggles to fulfill the destiny her parents set out for her, all the while balancing the loss of the one person who truly understood her.Catra's best friend left the moment she got the chance. As she deals with her relationships and her sense of identity all slowly beginning to crumble, she can't help but wonder what would have happened if she'd gotten the courage to go after her.
Relationships: Adora & Bow (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), just like. best friend squad stuff
Comments: 54
Kudos: 141





	1. me siento sola (perdoname mi amor)

**Author's Note:**

> VERY special thanks to ao3 user moreteapls aka magicgumball on tumblr for helping me bring argentine adora 2 life

_Adora was scared._

_Maybe not scared. Maybe overwhelmed._

_Abrumada._

_Five years young and facing off against an unknown monster. A monster with hundreds of mouths, all with shining white teeth forming words she doesn’t know. Words that fill her brain and cause a tension behind her eyes. Everyone is talking._

_As of right now, it was a woman. Her mouth was creased into a frown as she looked Adora up and down. Her dark hair fell, surrounding Adora’s line of vision and she couldn’t help but be reminded of the stories she holds so dearly- Blanca Nieves, La Bella Durmiente, Rapunzel. All stories where a woman like this one took a princess into an unfamiliar environment and hurt her._

_Adora screams._

_The woman backs up, stating something most likely chastising. But as Adora had mentioned earlier- she had no clue what it meant. The woman leaves and Adora takes in her surroundings._

_It is a grassy field with a pathway in the middle, leading to an array of buildings all formed in a circle. Children, like her, only very much_ not _like her, play amongst the grass. She sees adults, parents, all kissing their children goodbye, and all watching as the child screamed and cried and begged for_ something.

_Adora couldn’t help but feel like it was for them to stay. She would have done anything for her parents to have stayed a little longer. But this was her second day. The day she’d have to face alone._

_The dark haired woman returned and Adora felt her breath hitch, preparing herself for another scream. Only… This time, she’d brought someone else. A little girl, around Adora’s age._

_She was pretty. Her hair was long and dark and curled slightly at the ends, falling into her face. Her face was round and bright and her brown skin was littered with freckles underneath her eyes. And her eyes were a light mixture, a happy in-between of blue and brown. Adora found herself silent, despite her previous urge._

_For the first time, Adora realized that she had no desire to be the princess in her favorite stories. She instead preferred the role of the knight. And as Adora gazes to this little girl, whose shoulder’s the dark haired woman clutched, she felt a fierce sense of protectiveness overcome her._

_The dark haired woman said something to the other girl, and the only part Adora caught was her own name. She then pushed the girl forward. Her dark hair fell over her eyes as she practically hissed, turning to the woman with a scowl before stumbling towards Adora._

_“Uh,” The girl stuttered, regaining her footing, before offering her hand. She then put on a determined look, her eyes piercing into Adora’s own. “Yo te ayudo.”_

_For a moment Adora was stunned into shock. Despite one of the words being unfamiliar, she could understand the context- and the_ language. _The oh so familiar language that she hadn’t heard come out of anyone’s mouth but her parents yet so far._

_Adora stared at the girl’s hand. “Vos me ayudás?”_

_The other girl quirked her face in confusion for a moment, before seeming to shake it off, nodding vigorously._

_Adora smiled and grabbed her hand._

_Maybe things would end up okay._

  
  


_-_

  
  


“Adoraaaa. Earth to Adooooora. Uh… Tierra… Calling in Adora Calavera?”

Glimmer’s voice broke Adora’s daydream and brought her back into the real world. Adora blinked a couple of times, rubbing between her eyes. “Sorry. Lost my thought train.”

Glimmer chuckled, although Adora really couldn’t pinpoint why.

She was currently in the dorm that she and Glimmer shared, sat on her bed across from her friend. Glimmer had been there for her pretty much since day one, once Bow convinced her that Adora wasn’t some Horde loyalist. She was grateful for her company, even with the incessant stench of her pink hair dye clogging up the bathrooms they all shared. Sometimes, though. It was hard.

“So, you were talking about conjugations….?”

  
“Right. Yeah. Right.” Adora said, and, after taking a breath, she continued. “It’s just kind of difficult for me. Teaching you this, specifically. It’d be different, the way I’d say it.”

“Well… Why don’t you teach me the way you’d say it?

Adora shook her head. “No, no. There’s not a lot of Argentines coming into the states. I mean there is but there’s more Mexicans and Puerto Ricans and-”

“But you understand when people use the other kind of conjugations, right? Wouldn’t they understand if I spoke like you?”  
  


Adora opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t tell Glimmer the real reason she needed to learn these conjugations specifically. She could barely admit it to herself. That she was desperately grasping at some sort of comfort. Familiarity. 

“Adora, I wanna learn either way, okay?”

Adora smiled gratefully at Glimmer, getting up from her own bed to sit with Glimmer on hers. “I know. I appreciate it. Really. It’s just… I want you to be, I don’t know. Good talking to other people. Not just me.”

  
“You’re not the only Argentine alive, Adora.”

Adora laughed at that, bonking her head against Glimmer’s shoulder. “You _know_ that’s not what I meant.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes, dramatically flopping back onto the bed and causing Adora to lose her balance, and she rolled onto the floor. “Glimmer!”

Adora then grabbed a pillow somewhat awkwardly off of Glimmer’s bed and threw it as hard as she could at her friend’s face, causing her to let out a muffled “oomf”.

All she heard for a moment was Glimmer’s laugh, as her body shook the bed. And it was good, and nice. And for a moment Adora allowed herself to smile, enjoy this. This, all of this, was what she’d been working for her entire life. It reminded her of her first night at Bright Moon University, where she’d been so very not used to the mattress on her bed that she’d spent it entirely on the floor.

It sent a familiar tension behind her eyes when she thought about what she’d given up for it.

BMU was beautiful. She’d made friends her first day. Her teachers were kind, and so far, she’d been able to keep her grades up. Had shown that she was capable of deserving the scholarship that brought her here in the first place.

Glimmer’s head peaked over her bed, her smile wide and teasing.

“I hate you.” Adora huffed, but her face was smiling.

“You love me.” Glimmer dismissed with a wave of her hand, and she slid down her bedside

until she was laying next to Adora. “Aren’t you glad you transferred here? I’m the best.”

“You’re the worst,” Adora said through a laugh, one that wasn’t all that genuine. “I’m going to march right back to HUP.”

“Ugh, that’s such a vile name. _Horde’s University of Prestige._ I think I’m gonna vomit.”

Adora said nothing to that. HUP had been all her family was able to afford. It had been close to home. Close to… everything. Of course her parents were always there, always pushing, always asking her _why_ she hadn’t gotten a scholarship to some fancy school when Octavia Ramos had.

_Octavia tiene una cara bien tonta, Adora. No importa._

Adora blocked that voice out of her head and tried, for maybe the fifth time today, to stay in the present. This is what her parents had always wanted from her. Graduates from BMU went on to become entrepreneurs, scientists, world leaders. She could finally feel like she was doing something. Like she was fulfilling the destiny her parents had set out for her when they came here. 

What she wanted- the ache that settled itself in the dip of her shoulders every time Glimmer looked at her funny, every time Bow smiled in a way that could almost be seen as pitying- didn’t matter. What mattered was graduating and making the world better. For her, for her parents, and maybe even for-

Her brain was cut off by the sound of the door opening. In walked Bow, Glimmer’s… friend-boy-thing. Adora honestly had no clue what was going on with them. She’d thought they were dating when she first met them only to be shut down very quickly by Glimmer, who’d clearly been very flushed when she insisted they were “ _just_ friends.” But with the way her entire face lit up at the sight of him, Adora somehow doubted that. 

Despite the absolutely giddy expression on Glimmer’s face, her voice was scolding as she sat up against the bed. “Bow! You know you’re not supposed to be in here.”

Bow shrugged. “It’s fine. Everyone’s used to me. I did used to live here, if you don’t remember.”

Glimmer grumbled at that. “Still…” 

Bow plopped himself right next to Glimmer, leaning into her. “Aw, you didn’t miss me?”

Glimmer’s bright smile betrayed her. “Not even a little.”

Bow turned to Adora. “Adora, she’s so _mean._ ”

Adora laughed, getting up.

“Where are you goiiiing?” Glimmer whined from where she was still sat on the floor. 

“To the library. I have a paper due in three days and I’ve barely even started it.” Adora grabbed her laptop off her bed and swung it under her shoulder, looking back at Glimmer and Bow who had matching pouts on their faces. “Then I have to go to practice.”

“But we haven’t had a best friend squad hang in like, _forever._ ”

“Come on, Adora. We can watch that show you’ve been talking about.”

“It’s in Spanish.” Adora deadpanned.

“That’s what subtitles are for!” Glimmer insisted, patting the area next to her. Adora scrunched her brow in concentration. She needed to get this paper done. But… Bow was right. Adora had been so busy trying to focus lately that the three of them had barely hung out in the last two weeks. Two days was enough time to write a paper, right?

“Fine. One episode.”

“One episode!” Bow promised with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

If the three of them were asleep, all leaning against each other in a pile of limbs three hours later, well. That was a problem for future Adora.

-

_The article se trate de-_

_No, fuck._

_The article talks about-_

_Way too casual._

_The article is about-_

_That just doesn’t sound right._

Adora groaned, planting her head against the table and earning a shush from Perfuma, the librarian’s assistant. Adora offered an apologetic grin. She needed to get this finished, and soon. But this one line was driving her crazy. Adora _knew_ what she wanted to say. She just didn’t know how to word it. If only-

Adora shook that thought out of her head. She was on her own now. She needed to figure this out. 

“Este artículo se trata de… This article…. This article… This…”

Adora placed her face into her hands and covered her mouth, letting out a muffled scream. She could feel tears beginning to form in her eyes, and shook her head. _Why is this so difficult? It’s ONE phrase._

She shot up, shutting her laptop and grabbing it, walking straight out of the library. She could hear Perfuma whisper a confused, “Adora?” as she walked out, but chose to ignore it. Once Adora was outside she backed herself up against the wall and began to breathe, slowly, in and out. She couldn’t help but grab her phone out of her pocket and type in a name she’d sworn to herself she’d never forget. When her contact picture pulled up, Adora couldn’t help but smile and let out a breathless laugh.

_Basta, estúpida._

Adora’s thumb hovered over the call button as it seemed to stare back at her, menacingly. _Two months and you’re already caving? Dónde está tu individualidad, porteña?_ Adora sighed, and, after one last look, she pocketed her phone. The last two months had been painful in a way Adora couldn’t relate to anyone. She’d been without her person. But she’d managed. And she was doing okay. It was just one sentence. Just one paper. _I can do this. I don’t need her._

Adora gave the library a forlorn look before taking a last breath and walking back inside.

-

“Oh, you look like- Like-”

“Like an idiot?”

“No, like- ugh, what’s the _word-”_

_Mariposa._

“Idiot?”

  
Glimmer was laughing, her entire stomach shaking at the sight that was presented before them. Bow and “Sea Hawk” (no one really knew his real name), were in matching, vibrantly colored crop tops. Not that that was unusual, at least for Bow. The boy didn't seem to own shirts that went past his chest. What was unusual was the fact that they were absolutely _covered_ in paint, all sparking colors that met the eye with a flash. Their arms were spread in an upward angle and their heads slanted together, with one pair of arms looped around each other. There were still people milling about the courtyard and a few spared a glance, but none seemed too shocked. These kinds of things happened at BMU.

Adora was still in her soccer jersey, somewhat sweaty from practice. Glimmer had called her here for an “emergency”. Turns out this is what qualified as an emergency to Glimmer.

“Just take the picture, Glimmer,” Bow whined, “I need to get a good grade on this assignment.”

“What kind of assignment even is this?” Adora found herself asking.

“It doesn’t matter. I just need to get this done.”

“Oh come on, Bow,” Sea Hawk said, brandishing his arms even further, “It’s an _adventure.”_

Bow’s only response was a groan, and Adora heard the shutter-click of Bow’s camera, seated neatly in Glimmer’s arms. “There. The picture was taken. Okay?”

Bow’s sigh of relief was imminent as he slowly broke his arm away from Sea Hawk. “No one told me how itchy this would be.”

“An _itchy_ adventure.” Sea Hawk said to Bow with a smile. Bow couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Thanks, Sea Hawk, for helping me out. It was clearly stated that this had to be abstract and well… You were the first person I thought of.”

Sea Hawk balanced his arm around Bow’s shoulders, causing Bow’s cheeks to redden slightly, and, more noticeably to Adora, Glimmer’s expression to turn into a frown. 

“Adora,” Bow angled his head towards her, “What were you gonna say we looked like? I need specific examples for my oral presentation.”

Adora frowned. “I… Uh…”

“It’s okay if you can’t remember.” Bow supplied helpfully.

Adora shook her head. “No. I know what I was going to say. I just… can’t really remember… the word in English.”

“You could describe it for us?” Sea Hawk offered, his expression still brilliantly positive.

Adora grimaced at the thought. _Individuality. You need to learn how to do things by yourself._

“Okay. Well… It’s a bug, one of the flying ones and its wings are really like, big and colorful. And it does something to flowers, I can’t remember what. And uh…”

Sea Hawk perked up. “Oh, a ladybug?”

_Vaquita de San Antonio._

“No, not a ladybug.”

Bow nodded encouragingly. “Keep going.”

“Their English name is kind of weird. Like… Like two words mashed together? Like ladybug. But not that.” Adora frowned, her eyebrows tightening together in frustration.

“Dragonfly?”

_Lib_ _élula._

“No. Not a ladybug, not a dragonfly, not…” Adora’s frown deepened and she covered her face with her hands. “Forget it. It’s fine.”

Bow came up, placing one of his paint soiled hands onto Adora’s shoulder. “Come on, don’t give up on us now. Is it… Uh…” His brow furrowed in thought before he seemed to come to a realization. “A butterfly!”

Adora looked up. “Yes. Oh my God, Bow, yes. That’s it!”

For whatever reason she felt the need to hug Bow, as if this were some sort of momentous occasion. “See, Adora. I knew you could do it.”

“You’re getting paint on my jersey, you goof!” Adora said with a laugh as Bow squeezed her.

Adora caught Glimmer looking on from the sidelines, somewhat scandalized, and her smile turned wicked. Her clothes and skin were smeared with paint now from Bow’s hug and she nodded to him, before he looked to Sea Hawk and together they all advanced towards Glimmer.

“Oh no,” Glimmer said, stepping back slowly. “You will _not._ ”

“Glimmer,” Bow began to zombie-walk his way towards her. “Become one of us.”  
  
Glimmer shot off with a scream, but Adora, forever the athletic one, caught her in less than a second, scooping her into a hug as she struggled, Bow and Sea Hawk helping her trap Glimmer into their embrace.

Glimmers squealing eventually turned into laughter as the four of them backed away, the moment wearing off.

And while Adora was happy right now, truly happy, she couldn’t help but think that all of that could have been much easier. About how all the pitying looks and patronizing guesses could have been avoided.

Once again, Adora felt an ache between her eyes.

_Why does it always have to be you?_

-

Adora waited. Patiently.

Not patiently. Her index finger pressed into the mouse repeatedly. Each time the page loaded. Each time there was nothing.

Adora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so worried about a grade.

_(She could. It had been before. Now… Now was after.)_

Her professor had said that he’d post grades today. Just not _when._

“Jesus Christ, Adora. Calm down.” Glimmer looked up from the book she had her nose buried in. Apparently, her mother had been getting on her more and more as of late about her grades. So for once in her life, Glimmer was- “Some of us are trying to study.” That.

“He could have been more specific. It would have been nice if he was more specific.” Adora reloaded the page again. Nothing. “It’s almost noon. Glimmer, what if he’s not posting them because they’re all too bad to post?”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” Glimmer sighed, taking the books out of her lap and push them to the side. “Why don’t we take a break, the both of us? Learn some Spanish.”

Adora considered it for a moment. As of late, she’d been avoiding her Spanish lessons with Glimmer. She’d realized they’d been more painful than helpful. Had made her more homesick rather than less. But it was unfair to Glimmer to stop.

“Sure.”

Glimmer brightened, shifting so she was fully facing Adora. “Okay, I wanted to talk about colloquialisms. I’ve been researching, and in Mexico, they use the word _güey_ , which means ox, to refer to each other. Like the word dude.”

_Adora, wey, no seas mam_ _óna._

Adora hissed through her teeth. “I know.”

Glimmer looked at her curiously. “You okay, Adora?”

Adora took in a deep breath. She couldn’t allow herself to react that way. “Yeah. Let’s just-” 

Before Adora could continue, her phone dinged.

“Oh God. Do you think-”

  
“Open it, Adora!”

Sure enough, when Adora picked her phone up, there it was. A notification that a new grade had been posted. “Glimmer, I can’t look.”

“Come ooooon, Adora. You can do it. I believe in you.” Glimmer reached over to nudge her shoulder playfully. Adora shut her eyes tightly.

“No. No. I _can’t.”_

“Here,” Glimmer stood and reached for her phone, “I’ll do it for you, okay?’

Adora’s eyes shot open. “ _No.”_

Glimmer backed up, bringing her hands to her head. “Okay, okay, calm down. Deep breath.”

Adora follows Glimmer’s advice, centering herself and raising both of her hands to rub down her face. “I can do this. I probably… I probably did fine.”

Glimmer nodded. “You probably did fine.”

With that, Adora slowly picked up her phone, wincing as it dropped from her hand only for her to catch it before it hit the ground. She pressed it to her head, whispering softly, _“Por favor.”_

With that, she unlocked it, and opened the notification. 

_Fuck._

“Oh no,” Was all she could muster, whispering under her breath. Glimmer of course was at her side immediately, trying to peek over her shoulder. 

“An eighty. That’s not too bad.”

Adora shook her head, clamping her mouth shut. She could begin to feel what she always felt during these moments. Like her throat was closing in, like her head was buzzing. Like a nest of wasps. she could feel the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes and her jumbled brain narrowed down to one sickening thought.

_¿Qué van a decir mis pap_ _ás_ _?_

This would bring her grade down to a B, she knew. This was her lit class- the one class she’d been struggling with the entire two months she’d been at BMU. The kind of class she’d struggled with her entire life. But before… before she’d had-

“Adora? Come on, it’s not that bad. It’s okay.”

Adora found herself shaking her head again, and her breathing began to quicken. “Me tengo que- Uh, I need to. I need to leave.”

“Wait, Adora, hold on-”

Adora was sprinting out of her room, down the hall of their dorm building until she reached an exit. Like she had at the library, she went to the corner of the building and propped herself against a wall, trying to catch her breath. Only unlike at the library, she couldn’t. She ended up sliding down the wall and burying her face in her hands, still hyperventilating.

“No puedo, no puedo, no puedo, no puedo, no puedo…” Adora found herself whispering as tears slipped down her face and she began to rock back and forth against the wall. She knew what she needed. She knew what would help. She just didn’t know…

Adora begrudgingly picked up her phone, her hands still shaking, and found her way to that oh so familiar number. Before she could think against it, she pressed call.

And for five excruciating seconds, it rung.

“...Adora?”

“ _Catra.”_ Adora whispered, unable to keep the relief from her voice. Catra sounded like she always did. Kind of raspy, kind of childish, but secure. There.

“Hey, Adora. What’s up?”

“He uh,” Adora gulped, knew she wouldn’t be able to continue in English, and thanked God for the first time in two months that she had that option. “Me puso una ochenta.”

“...Okay. Te puso una ochenta.”

“Mi profe.”

“Ah.” Catra’s voice immediately became understanding. “Okay.”

“He said,” Adora switched again, not wanting to sound too vulnerable. Too broken. “My syntax was choppy. Catra, ni sé qué significa la palabra syntax.”

She heard Catra breathe, and the relief it sent through her body was indescribable. “It means that uh… Some of your sentences didn’t make sense.”

“I couldn’t use a lot. I didn’t know what else to do.” 

“Okay. It’s okay. Todo va a salir been.” Catra’s voice was calm, reassuring. Adora wanted to believe her.

“You think?”

“Yeah. It’s one eighty. You have the rest of the school year to make up for it. Y sé que puedes.”

Adora nodded, wiping at her eyes. She was beginning to feel calmer. She couldn’t help but feel an innate need to see Catra’s face. This- this was good. But it wasn’t enough.

“Do you remember, when I got a seventy on that geometry quiz, sophomore year?”

She could hear Catra’s laugh through the phone. “Yeah. I don’t think I’d ever seen you more freaked.”

“Pero vos me ayudaste.”

“Como era lo que dijiste- _Jamás.”_

_“Jamás.”_

They were both laughing now, and Adora’s tears had stopped. The buzz in her brain had stopped. The ache between here eyes… Was more prominent than ever.

“Catra?”

“Mhm?”

“Te extraño.”

There was silence on the other end, and Adora couldn’t help but feel the tightness of her throat build up again.

“Catra-”

“God, Adora, why do you have to make this _hard?”_

“Catra, I-”

“You _left._ No me extrañas. Solo quieres que te abrace y que te diga que todo va a estar bien, como si todo está bien y lindo and like you didn’t-” She heard Catra choke on her words slightly. “Como si no me dejaste.” 

Adora opened her mouth to speak, to tell Catra that she _didn’t want this._ That she’d wanted her here. That she knew, if Catra applied, she’d get in. Catra had always been smart. She was just _stubborn._ But Catra beat her to the punch.

“Don’t call me again.”

With that, Catra hung up. And with that, Adora felt the tears slipping down her face again- only this time, it was for an entirely different reason. Only this time it was many more, and they were accompanied by an ache between her eyes.

_Me dejaste._


	2. sobrevivir (siempre me pasa por sobrevivir)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello everybody welcome back. this one is a bit tough so pls tread carefully if u r especially sensitive to drugs/addiction in general. another thanks to my argentine ambassador moreteapls/magicgumball on tumblr for helping me w argentine adora <3
> 
> (for my non spanish speakers the word fregando will come up as scrubbing in google translate so jus kno its mexican slang for like "irking the shit out of me")

_ Catra sat herself down comfortably on the couch, next to Adora, handing her the very cup of water she’d gone to get. Adora had been acting strangely today. Skittish. Not her usual self. Catra couldn’t help but have it worm its way down her body- the thought that always did when Adora got like this. _

_ That she’d finally come to her senses. Decided she didn’t need Catra anymore. _

_  
_ _ Catra sighed and reminded herself again that that would never happen. _

_ Adora took the cup gratefully and smiled that brilliant, wonderful smile. But she looked away right after. Looked down, like she shouldn’t be smiling. Like there was nothing to smile about. Catra took a sip from her water. _

_ “When are your parents gonna get home again?” _

_ Adora scrunched her brow in thought. “Eh… Una hora. Más o menos.” _

_ Catra nodded, reaching for the remote that sat comfortably on Adora’s family’s dark coffee table, that connected to Adora’s family’s television, in Adora’s family’s living room, at Adora’s family’s house. _

Shut it.  _ She chastised herself.  _ Adora has gone through a lot.

_ “Time for…” Catra tried to nudge Adora’s shoulder playfully. “Jane the Virgin?” _

_ Adora managed a small smile at that. “Ya sabés.” _

_ It was clipped, as all of her responses had been today, but at least it was something. _

_ Before Catra could turn the television on, however, she heard Adora take in a deep breath. _

_ “Catra.” _

_ “Hm?” Catra hummed, lowering her arm that had the remote. _

_ “Tengo que…” Adora shook her head and spoke in English for the first time that afternoon. “I have to talk to you. About something.” _

_ Catra turned completely, placing the remote on the table and facing Adora. “...What?” _

_ Adora frowned, was silent for a while. Catra felt a tightness build up in her chest. _

_ “Adora,” Catra said, although her voice was barely above a whisper. “Que pasó?” _

_ Adora shook her head, looking at Catra with a somewhat soggy smile. “Nothing bad. Just… I...” _

_ “Abrumada?” Catra supplied. _

_ “Abrumada.” Adora nodded. She took a deep breath. “Sabes que mis papás tienen… Expectativas.” _

_ Catra huffed at that. “That’s putting it lightly.” _

_“_ _Bueno_ _…” Adora reached her hand up, pushed back a stray hair that fell out of her stupid poof. “_ _Me dieron_ _una beca.”_

_ Catra scrunched her face slightly in confusion. “Ya tienes una beca.” _

_ “No, uh,” Adora stuttered. Catra had no clue what was happening. _

_ She and Adora had both received academic scholarships to go to HUP. It’d always been that deal- HUP was the only school they’d be able to go to. That’d been the path they’d both been on their entire lives. Catra had made her peace with it. HUP was a shitty school, obviously. But it was a  _ school _. Something Catra hadn’t even thought she’d be able to do at all. _

_ Adora spoke again, regaining her composure. If you could call it that. “It’s for Bright Moon.” _

_ Catra’s eyes shot open. “Bright Moon?” _

_ Adora nodded, looking down slightly. _

_ Catra laughed. _

_ “That’s… Oh my God, Adora, that’s  _ good.”

_ Adora looked hopeful. “¿ _ _ Pensás  _ _ que sí?” _

_ Catra nodded. “Duh. It’s hilarious.” _

_  
_ _ Adora frowned. “Hilarious?” _

_ “Yeah,” Catra continued, shifting so her feet were crossed underneath her and she was fully facing Adora. She grabbed both Adora’s wrists with her hands. “It’s perfect. Imagine their reaction when you say no to  _ Bright Moon.”

_ Catra’s smile stretched across her entire face. It only dimmed slightly when she saw Adora’s expression. “Adora?” _

_ Adora looked away from her. _

_ Catra’s smile disappeared completely. “Vas a decir que no, ¿verdad?” _

_ Adora didn’t say anything. Catra let go of Adora’s wrists and backed away from her until she bumped into the couch’s armrest.  _

_ After a moment, Adora looked back up at her. “Catra. Porfa. You could get in too, ’toy segura. Your grades are better than mine and you don’t play any sports but-” _

_ Catra shook her head, in clear disbelief. “I don’t want to go to Bright Moon, Adora.” _

_ “Catra-” _

_ Catra got up before Adora could continue. “No te puedo creer.” _

_ Adora got up to face her. “No quiero ir sin vos.” The unsaid was clear.  _ I will.

_ “¡Pues no te vayas!” Catra pushed past Adora and Adora turned around, following her until she grabbed Catra’s shoulder.  _

_ “Catra. No hagas esto.” _

_ “Why not? You’re leaving. I can do whatever the fuck I want.” _

_ “Catra, please-” _

_  
_ _ Catra slammed Adora’s door shut before Adora could say anything else. She wanted to get back on her bike, ride away. Go back to her grimy dorm at her grimy school in her grimy town. Show Adora that she could survive like this. That Adora didn’t need some fancy school. _

_ But she felt numb. _

_ Catra slid back against Adora’s door, silent tears slipping down her face. _

_ Adora was leaving. _

_  
_ _ Adora had found something better than her. _

_ - _

Catra was woken up very rudely by light splitting into her dorm, absolutely ruining the sleep she’d finally managed to get. 

“Up and at ‘em, wildcat!”

_ Ugh.  _

_  
_ _  
_ _ That. _

“Scorpia,” Catra groaned, covering her face with her arm. “What the fuck?”

“Come on, Catra! It’s a beautiful day.” When Catra peeked through her fingers, Scorpia’s smile was absolutely blinding. 

“I don’t have class ‘til ten.”

“No reason we can’t go on a lovely walk around campus!” Scorpia was  _ way  _ too excited about that. HUP’s campus was nothing to marvel at. Graffiti covered walls that no one bothered to clean off. The dreary muted green that painted itself across every classroom. The cigarette butts that you could use as a trail to find a path to the nearest stoner. And the stench that no one could quite place, but remained no matter what kind of air freshener they attempted to use.

It was a dump.

Scorpia had become her dorm-mate after… Well. After everything. Despite the fact that her parents owned the plot of land that the school was built on and therefore, she could sleep wherever she wanted, she still chose to sleep in here. With Catra.

Catra had no clue what kind of spirit had sentenced her to this kind of torture.

“Come on, wildcat. Time to clear your head. After you were so distraught yesterday-”

“I was  _ not  _ distraught.” Catra practically hissed.

Scorpia held both of her arms up. They were both prosthetics, painted a ridiculous color of red. Catra couldn’t help but compare them to pincers. In her head. And out of it.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, or if it had to do with that Calavera girl-”

Catra let out a noise of digust.

  
“Sorry, sorry,  _ she who shall not be named _ , but I just want you to know I’m here if you need anyone to talk to or cry to or-”

“Scorpia.” Catra’s voice was very clear.  _ Drop it. _

Catra heard Scorpia take in a breath but ignored it, and pushed herself up off the bed. She looked to the drawer in their room and walked over, grabbing some clothes. Her fingers hovered over the plastic back that remained buried beneath one of her sweatshirts.

“I’m gonna go get ready.”

She heard Scorpia take in another breath, this one hopeful.

“We are  _ not  _ walking.”

-

Catra pushed through the door, nodding to the nurse who was at the bedside. She kept her face kind, unaffected, until she left.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Catra’s grip on the paper lunch bag she’d been holding tightened. She went to sit next at the chair next to the bed.

“You’re here.”

Catra huffed.   
  
The familiar face looked to her with a smile that held no kindness. Old age had not done her any favors. Her wrinkles sagged and her eyes bulged. She was thin, she was frail. Her once long dark hair had thinned and turned into a muted gray that framed her sunken jaw.

Every time Catra came here, she felt the same conflict war within her. Two sides of her past competing in a complicated battle. Two versions of the same memory.

The absolute thrill she got off of seeing her like this.

The remorse she felt to see her dying.

“I brought oatmeal.”

The woman groaned. “From Horde cafeteria?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Catra plopped her bag onto the desk next to the bed. “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Why bring anything at all?” The woman sighed, disappointment evident in her glare. But she took the bag and opened it.

“Are you ever not going to be a raging bitch?”

“Are you ever going to stop coming?”

  
Catra went silent at that. She didn’t know why she still came. This woman had caused her nothing but turmoil her entire life. She’d kept Catra from her family. She’d tormented Catra. Blamed her for her own lack of identity. Taught her she was nothing but what her situation made her. Catra had no idea why she came. Every day.

The woman seemed to have predicted her lack of response. She sat up slightly, putting the oatmeal to the side. “Well, shall we-”

“No.”

For the first time, the woman looked at her in disbelief. “No?”

“I don’t wanna do that anymore.”

“Catra,” She was met with a sigh, “How will you improve if you don’t-”

“My Spanish is fine.” Catra looked away from her, her frown turning into a sneer. How  _ dare  _ she. After everything. After putting up a facade all these years. After refusing to show Catra key parts of her culture. After saying it was because she feared Catra would become like her parents had. That Catra would be nothing. 

After chastising Catra for her mistakes but refusing to acknowledge that she’s the reason why Catra can’t even speak her own language the right way.

“You sound like an invalid.”

“I don’t wanna sound like a fucking Spaniard, so, fine.” Catra’s hands twitched. She felt restless. Like she wanted to turn and feel what it felt to have her frail jaw break apart under her fist.

“It seems we have this conflict every time you’re here.”

“It’s not a  _ conflict.”  _ Catra seethed, standing. “It’s a matter of you continually getting into my shit.”

“You could leave.”   
  


Catra was silent once again.

“Catra, I am only looking out for you. If you made an  _ effort  _ to  _ learn-” _

“Learn what? What you  _ stole  _ from me?” Catra pivoted and crossed to where this wretched, horrible woman was sat. “Learn how to speak with a tongue that isn’t even mine?”

The woman looked away from her. Perhaps she was shameful for the first time in her life. Perhaps she was looking onto Catra and realizing what she’d made her.

“Your parents were in no shape to care for you.”

Catra shut her eyes and brought her hands to her head, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “You were in no shape to care for me.”

“Catra,” The woman began, “I know it’s been hard for you since Adora-”

“Don’t.” Catra turned so her back was facing the woman. “You fucked us both up. But it’s okay now.” Catra stepped until she reached the door, holding the handle for a moment before leaving. “You’ll be dead in a week, anyways.”

She stepped out and the same nurse was there, most likely coming into check something. “Is Ms. Weaver doing alright?”

  
  
Catra smiled. “Just peachy.”

-

Catra’s foot tapped unconsciously against the ground as she waited outside of the Dean’s office. The bench she sat on was uncomfortable, hard. It hurt her back and made her thighs feel like they were being pierced by a hundred tiny needles.

She’d still rather sit here for years than have to go in there.

When she’d gotten the email that instructed her to set an appointment, that told her the Dean wanted to see her, well. She hadn’t been happy about it.

Hordak was notoriously unforgiving.

  
Catra had done something bad.

_ It’s fine.  _ She told herself.  _ You’re going to take care of it. _

After what seemed like an eternity, a face popped out of the doorway and simply nodded to Catra. Catra knew that face. He didn’t say much. A lot of the students had taken to calling him “Imp.”

Catra made her way into the office, peeking her head inside. It was dark- just like the rest of this place. Hordak didn’t seem to know what a window was. It was somewhat ominous- lit by a few candles surrounding the man’s desk. The walls were a dark green and, in the light, Hordak’s eyes almost took on the impression of red. Imp took his place back at the door.

Catra eyed the chairs in front of Hordak’s desk.

Hordak simply nodded to one of them.

Carefully, Catra lowered herself down onto one of the chairs. She refused to be the first one to speak. Although people tended to make quick judgments due to her character, Catra was never one to get in trouble with higher authority. No. The discipline she’d received undeserving over her life taught her not to seek it out.

“Catra.” Hordak’s voice was low, calm. She didn’t like it.

“Mm?” Catra sat up straighter.

“I wanted to commend you.”

_ What? _

“What?”

“Yes,” Hordak shuffled something on his desk, until he was fully facing her. “I know these past few months have been full of emotional turmoil.”

Catra didn’t respond to that.   
  


“Most would use that as an excuse for clumsy workmanship. Would allow their status to slip. But you remain one of the top students at this school.”

Catra remained dumbfounded. “You… Made me set an appointment to… Congratulate me?”

Hordak nodded. “I believe you deserve acknowledgement.”

“Uh,” Catra wiped at her brow, “Okay.”

“Also,” Hordak reached for a piece of paper, handing it to Catra. “I wanted to personally request a favor.”

Catra looked at the paper. It was small, like a business card. All it said was  _ Entrapta Ocampo, BMU.  _ To the side of it was a young woman, perhaps a little older than Catra herself, who had wild, purple hair tied into pigtails. She smiled wickedly into the camera, as if something behind it was entirely too thrilling.

“Entrapta was the teaching assistant for the entire Chemistry department at Bright Moon University. Luckily, due to certain… perks, she has agreed to come assist here.”

_ Bright Moon. _ _  
  
_

“I wanted to ask that you make her feel…  _ Comfortable.  _ I know you have a very personal rivalry with Bright Moon University.” He sneered at her, most likely meaning it as a friendly jab, although Catra really couldn’t see how this wretched man could be friendly. “Use that to your advantage. This is an asset we do not want to lose.”

  
Catra stared at the card a little longer, feeling as if she stopped it would disappear. 

“Do we have a deal?”

  
Catra looked up to Hordak, searching his face. The bud of an idea began to grow in her brain. If she agreed to do this…

“Deal.”

-

Entrapta was a lot to handle.

That was an understatement.

  
She was manic, absolutely refused to follow directions, and asked way too many questions.

“Does the cafeteria have smaller food sizes?”

Catra groaned.  _ “No.  _ This is it. This is ‘the Horde.’ Get used to it.”

Entrapta looked at her with a blinding smile. “Oh, I  _ will.  _ I’m so excited to see the technology you have here. For such a…  _ small  _ school you seem to have the most  _ amazing  _ resources.”

Catra rolled her eyes. She’d never seen the appeal of having  _ resources  _ if your school was a literal dump. But, whatever. She had no need to aggravate Hordak. “Sure.”

Before the two could move away from the cafeteria, Catra heard a familiar voice coming from inside it. 

_ Pinche hija de la re mil puta. _

“Catra, over here!”

Catra groaned, turning to the source of the noise. “Scorpia.”

Scorpia was, today, dressed in a plain white t-shirt that carried a yellow smiley-face with the slogan “have a nice day!” imprinted below it. Her own smile seemed to match that cartoonish image.

“Catra, how come you haven’t introduced me to your friend?”   
  


Catra looked over at Entrapta. She remembered first noticing her frazzled appearance. The girl had no shame in looking like she just came from an all-nighter at a mechanic shop. Her shirt was white and covered with grease stains and she had on over it a white lab coat. Her hair went off at odd angles and was more of a muted purple than her picture, like she hadn’t cared to dye it in a while. Scorpia was looking at her with absolute glee.

“Oh,” Entrapta lowered the clipboard she’d been scribbling in for the last hour and freed one hand to offer it abruptly, seeming almost unfamiliar with the action. “I’m Entrapta.”

“Not my friend.” Catra grumbled as an after-thought.

“Scorpia!” The way Scorpia shook Entrapta’s hand seemed to knock the other girl up and down, but it didn’t seem like Entrapta minded. “Boy, it is absolutely  _ fantastic _ to meet another happy face here.” Scorpia turned as if to mockingly pretend she had whispered. “This one is nice, but I haven’t seen her smile in weeks.”

Scorpia accompanied that dig with a nudge to Catra’s shoulder, one that she ignored along with the statement itself.

Scorpia and Entrapta began to engage of some sort of conversation that Catra blocked out in favor of thinking over her current conundrum.

The conundrum that had been bothering her for the past two months. The whispering voice in the back of her brain, begging her to give in. Begging her to sift through her drawer and find the little plastic bag she’d attained a month ago. The problem she may have a solution for.

She couldn’t help but feel her hands twitch slightly.

“Catra?” Scorpia’s voice brought her out of her haze. Catra blinked. “We asked if you liked the name?”

Catra frowned. “Name for what?”

  
  
“Us!” Scorpia threw her arm over Entrapta’s shoulder, who looked a little uncomfortable at the touch but at the same time delighted at being included. Scorpia looked to Catra eagerly, as if begging her to join in. “The Super Pal Trio!”

“Fuck no.” Catra huffed, and with that, she stalked ahead of them, not wanting to participate in whatever  _ that  _ was. _ Super Pal Trio _ .

Catra had no friends here. Not anymore.

-

When Catra got back to her dorm it was empty, for the first time in a while. She and Scorpia always seemed to be there at the same time. It was like Catra couldn’t get a moment alone, just some time to think clearly.

A blessing and a curse.

Catra’s eyes couldn’t help but stray to the drawer.

_ Who are you if not your parents? _

Catra closed her eyes.

_ Who are you really? _

Catra brought her hand into a fist and held it tight.

_ Where is your restraint if she isn’t here? Where is your control? Catra, you cannot depend on others to keep you from becoming- _

“I’m in control.” Catra hissed, but when she looked up, the voice that had echoed through her head had no physical form. Instead, the dark brown drawer stared back at her, as if it were taunting her. The voice itself was somewhere else, somewhere not thinking about all the shit she did. Somewhere not caring about the way Catra’s fingers shook every time she sifted through her drawer. About he way her own mind taunted her for her weakness. About the way she’d been right all along. “I’m in control.”

_ ¿Quién eres, de verdad? _

Catra pulled a hand through her hair, pushing the sweat slicked strands out of her face. She took in a couple of labored breaths.

“-So then I said, Rogelio, there is  _ no way _ I’m gonna use my arms for  _ that-  _ Catra?”

Catra swiveled quickly on one foot to come face to face with Scorpia, followed closely by Lonnie, one of the girls who’d been on-

Someone she knew.

“You okay, wildcat?”

Catra sighed. “Yeah. Fine.” She steeled her expression. “Don’t walk up on me like that again.”

Scorpia’s smile turned into a frown, only for a split second before she replaced it with another even more blinding one. “You got it, wildcat.”

Catra chose to say nothing to that. They remained in an awkward silence. Catra couldn’t help but look over at Lonnie, who was wearing the ever so familiar jersey. She felt her heart clench.

_ Basta. _

After everything that happened, after the phone call, after hearing her tear-soaked voice for the first time in months, Catra knew that she wasn’t there to barr Catra from truly becoming what she was always meant to be. From becoming the thing that made her mind buzz and her hands tremble with fear.

Scorpia, ever the reliable communicator, opened her mouth again. 

“Catra, me and Lonnie were talking. We had a fun idea.”

Catra quirked her eyebrow in response.

“You could teach us Spanish!” Scorpia’s statement was followed by a “wasn’t my idea” from Lonnie, who looked away the moment the words left Scorpia’s mouth. It was obvious that Lonnie had indulged Scorpia for too long to allow her to come up with this and think she had support.

“No.” Catra answered simply, moving to leave the room. To go where? She didn’t know.

“Come on, wildcat. It’s perfect. That way, you don’t have to feel sad every time you think about-”

Catra turned around and closed in on Scorpia, until their feet were only an inch apart. “You want to learn Spanish? Okay. Me ‘tás  _ fregando.  _ No puedo ir a ningún lado  sin que estés allí. I’ll make it clear to you.” Catra leaned up so she was looking Scorpia in the eyes. “We are not friends. None of the weird shit you pull makes us friends. Frankly, it makes you all the more irritating. So get. Out. Of. My. Life.” 

Without looking for a reaction, Catra left the room. She paused only for a second to grab a windbreaker off her bed. She pulled her jacket around herself. Despite everything, she felt tears prick at her eyes.

_ No tenías que hacerlo, Catra. _

_ Why did you do it? _

-

Catra was silent as she entered the lab.

Her gloved hand was clenched tightly around the bag.

When she’d retrieved it, Scorpia had been asleep. Catra couldn’t help but feel a small wince of regret.

Whatever. It was probably fine. Scorpia had taken so much shit from Catra before. How was this any different?

After searching for a moment she found her target.

There it was. Entrapta’s work bag, tossed haphazardly onto one of the tables.  _ She really should be more careful.  _ Catra couldn’t help but muse. This exact thing could happen every time she so carelessly decided to leave the lab open  _ and  _ her bag inside of it. It made her… Well. It made her the perfect target.

As Catra approached the bag, her head was swimming with thoughts, most of them along the same line:

_ What the fuck are you doing? _

Catra shook her head.

This needed to stop now. This needed to stop today. Entrapta was new, if she got caught with it, they’d take it easy on her, right?

Catra needed a way that didn’t point back to her.

The new TA bringing this in? The new TA from  _ Bright Moon? _

Totally plausible. Almost expected. She’d probably get a pat on the back and a reminder to not bring her hippie shit into the workplace.

_ It’s not hippie shit. Weed is hippie shit. _

Catra took a breath.

_ This broke your family. _

And another.

Weaver’s voice continued in her head with every step she took. 

_ You must be careful, Catra. It’s in your blood. Running through your veins. Who are we to become when our parents lay out such a path? _

Catra shut the voice out of her head. But the ache that grew up the small of her back remained. She’d been right this entire time. The moment Adora left, Catra had become the thing she’d feared the most. The moment Adora left, Catra had given into temptation. The moment Adora left-

Catra reached the bag. Carefully, she opened the first flap and searched around the various tools and scribbles to find an empty pocket.

This was the only way. If she didn’t do this, it’d plague her for the rest of her life. The what if. The destiny she’d so clearly been intended coming true. If this didn’t happen, she could turn into the one thing she’d spent her entire life avoiding.

Once she found one she dropped the bag inside and closed the backpack entirely, wincing at the slight hum the zipper made.

Catra backed away from the bag for a moment and took in a breath. 

_ It’s over. It’s all over.  _


	3. siento que te amo (porque te odio)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hiiiii its been. a while. and for that i apologize. but i hope u enjoy nonetheless
> 
> always and forever thank u to martina, magicgumball on tumblr and moreteapls on here, for helping me correctly portray adora as argentine. siempre es un placer trabajar con ella <3

Adora wiped the sweat off her brow, taking in one last deep breath before shaking herself out of it.

_ Game over. _

The final buzzer had felt deafening. She hadn’t played well, she knew that. Playing against HUP had her… distracted. It seemed like her head was constantly turning towards the stands, looking for…  _ something. _ Looking for… For nothing.

Adora sighed. 

_ Tenés que superar todo esto. _

Adora spent a moment looking down, simply allowing the grass to sway underneath her cleats. When she looked back up, though, she saw a familiar figure.

_ Lonnie. _

Lonnie was already leaving the field. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder as she trudged towards the parking lot. Adora was still in her uniform.

Still, she found herself bolting towards Lonnie, with a cry as an attempt to stop her. Lonnie turned around, her face curious before quickly turning into some combination of confusion and frustration.

“Calavera,” She huffed. “What is it?”

Adora approached her cautiously, rubbing her hand up and down her neck. “Lonnie, hey,” She started, nodding towards her, “You played good today.”

  
Lonnie squinted her eyes slightly. “Okay.”

“Really,” Adora attempted to seem earnest, motivated by the sole goal of compliments. “That last assist was impressive.”

Lonnie’s eyes narrowed even more. “Spit it out, Calavera.”

“Uh,” Adora stuttered, looking to the side slightly. “I don’t know. Playing today was… weird, right?”

Lonnie only shrugged. “I guess.”

Adora felt the back of her neck grow sweaty. “Lonnie… Um…”

Lonnie quirked her head, slightly irritated but still urging her to go on.

Adora looked down with a defeated sigh. “Is… Is she okay?”

Lonnie froze, for a moment, looking Adora up and down. She slowly shook her head. Adora felt her own throat tighten considerably. “Well,” Adora let out through a breath. “I… I guess I should get back to my friends.”

Lonnie grew visibly angry at that. Adora watched her body tighten, her stance become not unlike she looked defending her side of the court. “We were your friends.”

Adora’s eyes widened. Lonnie turned on her heel and stomped off, leaving Adora standing, alone, in the middle of the field.

Adora couldn’t help but feel the tears falling down her face, which she desperately wiped away as they fell. She’d always liked Lonnie. Her parents had moved to the States from Brazil around the same time Adora’s had, and while they may not have been the best of friends, she felt they understood each other. Had formed somewhat of a rivalry, but one that was based on friendship, trust, and communication. 

Not anymore.

Adora gulped down the rest of the tears threatening to spill down her chin and steadied herself. She knew, in her mind, that she’d made the right choice. But for once, the thoughts plaguing her weren’t about Catra. They were fuzzy memories of familiar faces, people who she’d never even told she was leaving. People who found out from someone other than her- people who were hurt, because of that.

Adora knew she wasn’t at fault. She’d been taught to take opportunities as soon as they came. But that didn’t stop the guilt that creeped and settled underneath her ears.

-

It took Adora a while to get back to her own dorm. Her head was cloudy and her eyes were perhaps a little sore from before, and her feet felt sluggish. She didn’t play as hard as she usually did today, but she felt like she’d ran ten miles.

When Adora eventually did reach her dorm, she opened it with minimal effort, using her shoulder to nudge it with a slight creak. Everything was dark, except for Glimmer’s phone, which illuminated her sleeping face. Adora smiled, albeit sadly, and placed her bag on her bed, collapsing with a breath. This woke Glimmer, who let out a startled breath of her own.

“Adora,” Glimmer whispered, and although her voice was hushed, something in it was panicked- frantic. “Are you awake?”

Adora hummed, her eyes snapping open at the urgency in Glimmer’s voice. “Yeah. What’s up?”

Glimmer moved to sit next to Adora on her bed, and Adora sat up to accompany her. Immediately, Adora noticed a red rimming around Glimmer’s eyes. She’d been crying.

“Glimmer,” Adora prompted again, nudging her shoulder into her friend’s. “What happened?”

“I-” Glimmer took a breath, and Adora could tell she was holding off tears. Adora offered up her hand, somewhat awkwardly placing it on Glimmer’s shoulder. Glimmer looked at her pleadingly. “It’s my mom.”

“Your mom?” Adora didn’t quite understand. Angella was Glimmer’s mother. She also happened to be BMU’s president. She seemed calm, well put together, and capable, despite her constant caution. She was incredibly supportive of Glimmer for the most part- but kept a very close eye on her grades and extracurricular activities. Glimmer was here on a scholarship as well, despite not needing it, simply because her mother insisted.

“Yeah,” Glimmer continued. “Apparently a former Bright Moon TA was found with illegal drugs in her bag.”

Adora frowned.  _ What? _ “Who?”   
  


“Entrapta Ocampo?” Glimmer gulped down another breath, wiping at her eyes to keep calm. “She helped with the Chemistry department.”

Adora remembered Entrapta. She was all over the place, but knew what she was doing. And she’d never  _ seemed  _ like someone who would get into that kind of stuff. Adora supposed it was never the people you suspected. Still, that left some questions. “What does that have to do with your mom?”

“HUP is gonna try to sue BMU,” Glimmer whispered, her eyes watering again. “Apparently they traced it and its linked to some like, infamous drug ring. They think we’re a part of it but they can’t prove anything.”

“Hold on,” Adora’s eyebrows furrowed with confusion. “All of that because one TA had drugs in her bags?”

“Adora. My mom could be out of a job.”

“I know, just,” Adora sighed, rubbing between her temples. “It makes no sense. That’s not even  _ close  _ to enough to warrant suing Bright Moon. They can’t do that.”

“They have the TA in custody, too.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “For drug possession? This seems… Way out of proportion.”

Glimmer took in another deep, centered breath. “I know.”

Adora realized the severity of the situation all of the sudden. Glimmer could lose her place at the school- worst case, Glimmer’s mother could get  _ arrested. But that won’t happen. _

_ Right? _

Adora had no clue. 

Although she tried not to let her brain venture, she was reminded that Glimmer’s father had been arrested a while ago for the same crime, although they never really spoke about it. He’d been given ten years- all for transporting illegal substances. Angella had claimed to have no knowledge that her husband was involved with such matters but it… Definitely didn’t bode well for her right now. 

Adora refused to let herself think that. There was no way Glimmer’s mother was involved with some underground drug ring. This was all a huge misunderstanding that was being handled incredibly poorly.

  
Still, Adora’s brain was buzzing- for once, not with sadness or nostalgia, but with untamed energy. For whatever reason, she felt this had become her responsibility. She needed to figure this out. And she planned to.

For now, though, she let Glimmer cry into her. She couldn’t quite imagine the pain she was feeling- with the possibility of losing another parent. 

They both dozed off like that, their backs to the wall and feet dangling off the bed.

-

When Adora woke, Glimmer was still asleep, slumped against her. Adora attempted to bring her backpack up from below the bed and use it to support Glimmer as she slowly moved away. She considered herself very lucky in that moment that Glimmer was a heavy sleeper. Adora didn’t exactly do these things with grace.

Once Glimmer stopped stirring and settled herself against Adora’s backpack, Adora took a moment to look at her sleeping form. Even then, Glimmer seemed unhappy. There was a small crease between her eyebrows, and her mouth contorted into a slight frown.

Adora sighed, reaching a hand out and touching Glimmer’s shoulder softly. “No te preocupes,” She whispered. 

As soon as Adora left her dorm building, she found herself bringing her phone out and searching for Bow’s familiar contact photo. It was one of the two of them, both smiling eagerly into the camera. 

They’d taken it only a little after they’d met. Bow was insistent on keeping in touch with her, even after Glimmer and Angella had finally convinced the committee to allow him to transfer to the boy’s dorms. Adora found it stupid that he hadn’t been there in the first place. She’d expected Bright Moon to be considerably more accepting than the Horde had been. She would’ve been concerned telling Glimmer of her own lesbianism, really, if she hadn’t seen the way she rallied for Bow and the bracelet she wore on her left arm at all times that consisted of beads arranged into the colors of the bi flag.

Adora couldn’t really understand the way Glimmer advertized that, so freely. She could barely get the words out herself, even after so long. It’d never felt like a pride-worthy aspect of her being- not something to be ashamed of, but surely not something to wear around all the time. Still, Glimmer seemed happy. Adora was probably just… Weird.

Adora shook the memories out of her head and dialed the number. It rang twice before Bow answered groggily, still sounding somewhat chipper despite the hour. “Adora? What’s going on?”

“Bow, hey,” Adora answered excitedly, her words coming out rushed as her head traveled miles ahead of her mouth. “You can meet me in the library, right? Now? Soon?”

“Woah, Adora,” Bow’s voice came out more steady this time, concern ebbing through. “What’s this all about?”

“I’ll tell you,” Adora assured him, unable to hide her urgency. “Just. Library. ASAP.”

She hung up before he could respond and put her phone back in her pocket. That’s when she realized her clothes were the same she’d worn the day before- and that her mouth tasted  _ gross  _ from sleep. Adora sighed, looking down at her phone once again.She could spare a minute for a little mouthwash.

-

When Bow arrived, Adora had already been there for ten minutes- her tapping on the wooden table becoming more incessant as each minute passed by. Finally, he sat down across from her, bringing his own hand over hers to calm her tapping. Adora flushed and smiled up at him, embarrassed. “Oh. Hey, Bow.”

“Hey, Adora.” He said with a smile and although it was completely innocent, Adora felt it tug at her heartstrings nonetheless. But this was not the time for that.  _ Concentráte. _

“So,” Adora started, moving her hand away from his and folding them in front of her, unable to keep her fingers from twiddling. “You heard about Glimmer’s mom?”

Bow’s face immediately turned into a frown. “Yeah. It’s… Bad.”

“Right,” Adora nodded, her expression lighting with determination. “And we’re gonna fix it.”

“Fix it?” Bow spluttered slightly, moving a hand to rub the crease out of his forehead. “How?”

Adora opened her mouth, prepared to say something before realizing she really didn’t have an answer. She looked down. “...I don’t know.” She admitted.

“Adora, look.” Bow said with a sigh, and he propped Adora’s chin up slightly so she was facing him. “I think right now the best thing we can do for Glimmer is be there for her. As her friends.” The last part seemed somewhat like he was telling himself that.

Adora shook her head out of his grasp and deepened her frown. “That’s exactly it, Bow. How are we her friends if we don’t  _ do _ something? What use do we have?”

Bow’s face seemed to crumple in confusion. “What do you mean, Adora? Of course we have use. We don’t have to singlehandedly solve the problem ourselves. Sometimes we can just offer comfort.”

“No, you don’t-” Adora felt her face heating up and stopped herself before she caused a scene in a library. She lowered herself back onto her seat and sighed, rubbing down her face with her hands before coming to a conclusion. “You’re right. I’m sorry I said anything.” The lie seeped through her teeth easily, for once.

Bow still looked concerned, but accepted it, getting up and offering Adora his hand. “Come on, let’s go get coffee or something. It’s too early for these kinds of conundrums.” He offered the last sentence with a laugh, one that Adora gave back. 

As they left the library, Adora caught Bow waving to Perfuma, who waved back eagerly with a smile. ‘What’s that about?” Adora asked Bow, looking at him questioningly.

“Oh, Perfuma?” Bow shrugged. “We went on a couple dates sophomore year. Didn’t work out, but she’s a good friend. Glimmer never liked her though, for whatever reason.”

_ Huh,  _ Adora felt her brain wandering once again but didn’t let it dwell on that aspect for too long.

She had different things to worry about.

-

Adora’s visitor badge irritated her shoulder as she walked through the familiar halls of her old school. She couldn’t help the fear that creeped into the back of her neck. She’d never known what to expect here- never known who would yell, who she’d find crying in a corner. To put it simply: HUP gave her the creeps.

She focused on her mission: Find Hordak. Ask him what the  _ fuck  _ was going on.

Maybe it wasn’t her place- maybe it had never been. Maybe she hadn’t made an appointment. But she felt the familiar weight settle on her shoulders. She needed to do this.

As she neared his office she couldn’t stop the weird nostalgic feeling warm itself around her wrists, or the incessant ache between her eyes. She couldn’t stop the way her eyes scanned each person who passed by, looking for that familiar grin, the flash of a glint in an eye. She didn’t have many good memories at this school. But the ones she did haunted her.

She was deep in her memories, not looking where she was going, when she slammed into something- something big.  _ Someone  _ big.

“Oh, gosh, I am so sorry.” Adora felt somewhat dazed, her vision blurry as surprisingly cold, hard arms pulled her up from where she’d tripped. “Totally my bad. I wasn’t watching where I was walking.”

When Adora finally regained her vision she looked up into a vaguely familiar face that peered curiously down at her. The woman spoke again. “Hey, do I know you?”

“Yo no…” Adora shook her head to regain her thoughts. “I don’t, uh. I don’t know. Do you?”

“Calavera.” For the first time Adora noticed the person standing beside her assailant.  _ Lonnie. _

“Woah, Calavera?” The woman seemed to have a realization, and let go of Adora abruptly, sending her back a few steps. Immediately she rectified this, grabbing Adora’s arm to steady her. “Adora Calavera?”

“Uh, yes,” Adora struggled out of the woman’s grip, who now had her face pushed into an expression tainted by anger. Adora noticed the reason her arms had been so cold- they were prosthetics, a brilliant red, too.

“Why I- I-” The woman seemed to stutter on her own words, before closing in on Adora, frowning deeply down at her. “I have some choice words for you, Adora Calavera.”

“I- I’m sorry?” Adora felt confusion wrap itself around her body, making her somewhat numb. She looked to Lonnie, almost desperately. “Excuse me?”

“Lay off it, Scorpia.” Lonnie pushed in front of the woman,  _ Scorpia,  _ shoving her back. “She isn’t worth it.”

Scorpia backed up but still eyed Adora suspiciously. Adora couldn’t bar her brain from wondering why Scorpia seemed to feel so strongly towards her- why this person she didn’t even know seemed to hate her.

Another thought occurred to her.

“Were you guys coming from Hordak’s office?”

Lonnie said “Yes” the same time Scorpia huffed, “Why do you wanna know?”

Adora immediately perked up. “What happened?”

“Like we’d tell you.” Scorpia turned away dramatically, and Adora groaned out of frustration. 

“Look,” Adora started, “I don’t know what I did to offend you-”

“Not me,” Scorpia said, as if that’d been obvious, “ _ Catra.  _ God, she was right. You really are dumb.”

Adora ignored the insult in favor of the question surging through her veins. “You know Catra?” 

It was confusing at the least, shocking at most. Catra had never been particularly good at making friends. She’d always pushed that aside with the excuse that she had Adora- that she’d always have Adora. Adora felt a twinge of guilt at that.

“Scorpia, come on,” Lonnie interrupted, tugging at one of Scorpia’s prosthetic arms. “We have better things to do than this. We gotta find Entrapta’s thingy.”

That  _ definitely  _ sparked some interest within Adora. “You guys know  _ Entrapta?”  _ Adora felt the excitement bubbling inside her- finally, something to look into. “Is that why you were seeing Hordak?”

Scorpia’s frown became even more turned downwards, if that was possible. “That’s none of your business.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Lonnie silenced Scorpia once again, looking to Adora with genuine curiosity in her eyes. “Why do you care?”

“Because they’re targeting Bright Moon,” Adora said, ignoring Lonnie’s exasperated  _ of course,  _ “And my friend’s mom could be in trouble, and I need to help.”

Scorpia actually laughed. “Wow, wow. That’s loaded, coming from you.”

“Vos no sabés nada sobre mi.” Adora hissed before she could stop herself, and she leaned back, taking a calming breath. “Look, I know neither of you trust me. But if you guys think you have something that could prove- that could help Bright Moon,” Adora avoided saying _ that could prove Entrapta’s the only one behind this _ , “You have to let me see. Please.” Adora allowed her voice to be pleading. She needed this.

Scorpia opened her mouth, most likely to tell her to fuck off, when Lonnie stopped her with a finger to her own. “Think about it, Scorpia.” Lonnie suggested gently. “Another set of eyes might be useful.”

“But she-”

Lonnie hushed Scorpia and pulled her aside, and the two of them conversed quietly for a moment before Scorpia turned around and faced Adora fully, holding out her hand. “Fine. But you keep what you see to yourself unless we tell you otherwise.” She seemed to be attempting to sound threatening- and failing miserably.

Adora nodded and shook her hand, cringing at the promise she just made.  _ Another one broken. _

She then followed in an awkward tangent behind Lonnie and Scorpia, who began to head in the directions of the dorms.

-

When Adora arrived, she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt and nostalgia. Catra’s bed looked like it always did. Messy, with blankets thrown off to the side and her sleeping clothes thrown carelessly onto it. With a pang Adora remembered when Catra used to leave that bed, come to hers on the other side of the room. Adora lived close enough to the school that she didn’t need to use the dorms- but she did, anyways. For Catra.

Adora found herself staring longingly at the bed, almost daring herself to reach out- see if it carried the same scent. Lonnie calling her name broke her out of her trance. Adora turned, flushed, to find Scorpia seated at the desk in the middle of the wall, a small robot-like figure in front of her. Adora stepped until she was close enough to Lonnie, peering over her shoulder. She noticed Lonnie move away a bit. Adora felt the ache between her eyes that she’d avoided this last week.

“This is Emily,” Scorpia introduced, acting as if that made perfect sense. “She’s Entrapta’s lab assistant. Programmed to record whenever she detects sound.”

“Is she recording right now?” Adora asked, tugging at her shirt and feeling slightly self conscious.

“No, or at least, I don’t think so,” Scorpia supplied. She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m not very good at this stuff. Or any stuff.”

They fell into an awkward silence for a second. 

“Anyways,” Scorpia continued hurriedly, “She’s only supposed to record when she’s turned on. The problem is, I can’t tell how to do that.”

“Let me see,” Adora nodded to the figurine, to  _ Emily _ , she supposed. Scorpia handed it- her to her, almost hesitantly. Adora felt around the little robot thing- it was impressive, actually. Round, a pale green with little legs to hold it up sticking out from underneath- it had a screen located at its center, and the screen was black. “There’s gotta be a button on this thing somewhere.”

“On Emily.” Scorpia actually sounded offended.

“Right,” Adora continued her search, to no avail. “On Emily.”

“Wait, give her to me.” Lonnie spoke for the first time since they’d entered the room. Adora shrugged, handing Emily to Lonnie.

Lonnie tapped the black screen on Emily’s center and sure enough, the robot let out a happy little hum, booting to life. “You guys are  _ idiots _ .”

“Oh, gosh,” Scorpia held her hands out and Lonnie tentatively gave her Emily. “She’s _ wonderful _ .”

Emily’s screen now had a smiley face on it- Scorpia seemed mesmerized, taken by this little device.

“Right, wonderful.” Adora said, frustrated. “But how does this help us?”

“Oh!” Scorpia seemed to remember why they were here in the first place. “Right. The last time I spoke to Entrapta, she told me she thinks she left Emily on the night before they found the..  _ stuff  _ in her bag. If someone snuck it in there, Emily can help us prove that!”

Adora rubbed between her eyes. That wasn’t the information she was hoping for. But she supposed it was all she had. “Right, okay. How do we find that recording?”

Scorpia hummed in concentration, tactfully tapping Emily’s screen one more time. Her smiley face faded, leading to a groupings of things that looked like video files.

“There!” Scorpia seemed genuinely surprised that had worked, and Adora couldn’t help but feel a little shock as well. All the video files had dates below them, as well as log numbers. Number 307 was the latest- and was dated the night before Entrapta’s arrest. It was twenty minutes long.

All three of them huddled around Emily. Scorpia took in a deep breath and pressed on the video file, opening it.

It buffered for a moment, before centering on total darkness. It stayed like that for a full ten minutes. Lonnie groaned. “This isn’t anything.”

“Shh,” Scorpia hushed. “Let’s just watch the whole thing.”

For five more minutes, there was nothing. But Emily had to have turned on for a reason. So they kept watching. At last, right at the sixteen minute mark, something happened. The bag opened above Emily, a gloved hand with an item reaching in and shifting around, causing Emily’s position to shift. The shift in position allowed for a new perspective. “Wait,” Adora said, refusing to believe what she saw. “Pause that.”

Scorpia tapped aimlessly at Emily’s screen until the video stopped, pausing on a sure image. It was Catra.

Adora felt denial sink into her mind. There was no fucking way. Catra had always distanced herself from that kind of thing- she never even drank, refused even the smallest sip of beer. Catra wouldn’t have that- wouldn’t even know where to get it. Adora stepped back a bit, shaking her head slowly.

“What is it?” Adora noticed for the first time that Scorpia’s face was frozen, too- in shock. Lonnie had posed the question, seeming to be the only person that hadn’t realized what they’d just discovered. Adora moved out of the way slowly, unconsciously, so Lonnie could get a better look. It was dark, and hard to make out, but Catra’s eyes were unmistakable, as they usually were.

“Fuck,” Lonnie whispered under her breath at the realization.

Adora shook her head again. It was impossible- It was-

As if on cue, Catra walked through the door right at that moment. She had books in her hands and a pen balanced between her teeth. It struck Adora as so casual, so normal, so  _ Catra _ . Not this person surrounded in darkness that she’d just met. Upon seeing Scorpia and Lonnie, Catra’s eyes widened. At seeing Adora, she immediately turned on her heel.

Before Adora could realize what she was doing, she bolted forward, grabbing Catra by the front of her hoodie and bringing her up, forcing her to face her. “ ¿ Qué estabas  _ pensando _ ?

It was all she could get out, and after she realized she’d begun to cry. Catra looked at her, bewildered and confused, eyes wide, and for a moment they just stayed there- Adora feeling a familiar, unwelcome fluttering in her stomach. After a moment Catra seemed to gauge her surroundings- and she shoved Adora away forcefully, causing Adora to fall back into the wall, her tears slipping down her cheek and her face flushed, stricken with shock. 

“What the _ fuck _ ?” Catra choked out, and as she did, Adora heard Emily clatter to the floor as Scorpia got up and left without a word, Lonnie following quietly. As she passed Catra, Lonnie paused, only for a moment. She gave Catra a hard glare. “You’re such a fucking  _ cadela _ .”

Catra and Adora were alone. Adora looked at Catra a moment before realizing she couldn’t anymore.

Guilt.

Through all the anger, and betrayal, frustration, hurt, Adora felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. And for the first time she realized how wrong that was.

“How could you?” Adora whispered, her voice hoarse. Catra’s face set in a straight line at the realization, her eyes going wide.

“How do you know?”

“No importa,” Adora hissed through her teeth, but she picked Emily up off the ground and shovedher into Catra’s arms anyways. “I don’t… No lo entiendo, Catra. No  lo puedo entender .”

At the sight of Emily, Catra grew defensive. “You  _ should. _ You-” Catra forced Emily down onto the table, and Adora heard a sickening crack. “You left. What did you expect?”

Adora took in a surprised breath at that, stalking forward until she and Catra were face to face again. “No. This is you.” She was done feeling this guilt, this remorse. Catra had made this choice. Catra alone. “You did this to yourself.”

Before Adora had to look at Catra’s face one more time, she shoved past her, into the hallway. Past Scorpia and Lonnie, past the life that was once hers.

Not anymore.

-

When Adora arrived back and Bright Moon, she felt exhausted. Her brain was numb, and that seemed to extend to the rest of her body. Getting out of her car felt excruciating.

Adora trudged her way back to her dorm, fully prepared to sleep away her problems for a little bit. She needed to figure out to do with this information. In the back of her mind, she already knew what she needed to.

When she arrived, though, the scene that greeted her was unexpected. Bow was there, holding a sobbing Glimmer in his arms. It was worse that it had been last night- much worse.

“What-” Adora was cut off when Bow hushed her, patting the bed next to him. She tentatively sat next to them, and when Bow looked at her, she realized he’d been crying too.

“What happened?” Adora tried again, much softer this time. Bow opened his mouth to speak, but Glimmer beat him.

“They arrested my mom.”

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! i rly hope u liked this. as always my tumblr is biluz so pls come talk 2 me there abt it, and if u want more info on this au check my #latina catradora au tag :-)


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